“This year, I was invited by some new immigrants to play cricket and though its amateur cricket and they play it for fun and physical exercise,” CV Sastry told Yorkton This Week. “I quickly found out that they are not fully equipped with the proper playing gear and the gear they had were getting very much worn out.
“They also had issues with getting the proper tennis balls on a continuous basis.”
Initially there were only six or eight people playing, but the number ballooned and now they have about 22-30 people playing on and off during weekends.
Due to the increase in volume and playing on rough ground, their equipment needed some upgrading, said Sastry.
“When I joined them this year, I also reached out to Parkland Valley Sports Culture and Recreation District and Saskatchewan Lotteries to let them know of the funding requirements for the new immigrants and residents in Yorkton,” he said.
“We also got support from Ms. Lisa (Washington) from Parks and Recreation of the City of Yorkton.
“They were very happy to provide us with funding for new bats, balls and playing gear for the team as long as there was an organized team.
“Since most of the newcomers have limited experience in the city, I took it upon myself to make an official team called the 'Yorkton Cricket Club’ and we were granted the funding as we required.”
But, Sastry was not done yet.
“Then I contacted Yorkton Tribal Council and Chief Isabel O'Soup also helped us with getting T-shirts printed for the team with the ‘Every Child Matters’ messaging as well,” he said.
“Of course we support local businesses, so all the products we bought from funding and support were bought from local businesses here in Yorkton so that money given to us stays in our local economy.”
Sastry said the team is about more than sport.
“The main idea behind this team is to make the new immigrants and residents feel welcome in our community and give them a sense of belonging,” he said.
